


SchoolMateAU: 707

by Zifeara



Series: For Whom the Soul Sings [3]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, First Kiss, Name spoilers, Saeran is still as sarcastic as you'd expect, Someone help Seven, alternate past, and were adopted, he's too awkward, mentions of sex vaguely in a different room, only a small mental breakdown, some unfortunate feelings, the twins skipped a lot of Bad Things, things are Good in the end
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 22:31:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20181784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zifeara/pseuds/Zifeara
Summary: A junior in highschool, Seven has had one (1) obsession for the last two and a half years; the stunning girl in his class that has the whole school talking. He's going to do it- going to ask her to go to the yearly fall dance with him. The only issue is, he's never said a word to her before. This could only go well, right?





	SchoolMateAU: 707

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, you've been tricked! I slipped a highscool AU into this series and you didn't even notice! In all seriousness, I was going to make a soulmate AU for Seven, and then it's been a year and it didn't happen. I liked the idea I had for it, but didn't have anywhere to go and then like a whisper on the wind, my brain said 'schoolmate AU has the same lettering' and I wrote 10 pages in a day of this bloody thing. 
> 
> Okay, three things to warn you of before you start; first of all is that I refer to Luciel by his real name this entire time because he never had a reason to change it in this one. Secondly, the poor bean is going to jump to a conclusion and have a minor scare over what he thinks will be his first sexual experience. IT ISN'T. He's only 15 and I'm super not doing that, I promise. Last thing is, I know what I was doing at 15 and it was pretty much this, so if you have expectations of a completely innocent, Very Proper Good Boy Seven, you're not entirely wrong, but not all right either. 
> 
> You have two songs close together in here, as well. All that being said, this is based on the school system in the good ol US of A because it's what I know;;;

He sighed. Leaning his head in his hand, Saeyoung tuned out the lecture his teacher was giving and stared across the room. Just two seats over and one forward, the girl he’d been pining over for almost three years doodled in her notebook. He knew that’s what she was doing because she hadn’t looked at the board in a few minutes, meaning she was confident she had a firm grasp on this subject. Biology was always her strong suit. As was art. The highlight of his entire school career had been when the school was empty and he was leaving detention to find her alone in one of the art classrooms, painting a large canvas and singing to herself. She had the voice of an angel and he stayed so late just to listen to her than Saeran was worried when he got home. He wanted to hear her voice for every second of every day.

Now as she flipped her raven hair over her shoulder, Saeyoung felt the butterflies come to life in his chest. He’d seen her five days a week nearly every week since he enrolled in school and she only became more radiantly beautiful every single time she crossed his path. He’d been far too shy to approach her the first year, he almost did it last year, but this was it. Junior year was the one. There was only one major roadblock.

Zifeara was the most popular girl in school. Not because she tried to be, but because she didn’t care about anything; she was the infamous bad girl, the one who’d get into fights and went out clubbing on the weekends and still held a nearly 4.0 GPA. She was blindingly smart, impossibly gorgeous, sharp as a tack… and now she was starting to sleep around, which was just the cherry on top of the sundae for most. She was fawned over every minute of the school day and as a result, she was nigh inaccessible. She was on a pedestal so far off the ground, he’d need a running start and a hang glider to reach her. 

She didn’t even know he existed despite being in a majority of her classes this entire time because of how long it had taken him to introduce himself. He couldn’t hope to compete with everyone else at school, but he was compelled to try, if for no other reason than Saeran was getting excessively annoyed with the amount of open moping he’d been doing lately. They’d had a long discussion full of eye rolling and persuasive shaking last night and Saeyoung felt he was as ready as he’d ever be. He was finally going to talk to Zifeara Mortis Nightshade and he was going to do it in time to ask her to get to know him by going to this year’s Fall Formal with him. 

The bell rang, snapping him out of his nervous thoughts and making him jump in his seat. Crap, he was supposed to try and catch her after this class! Scrambling to get all of his things together, Saeyoung nearly face planted into his desk before he could get up. By the time he made it to the threshold of the room, he already didn’t see her. She was nowhere in sight and he wouldn’t see her again for the other two classes of the day. He’d completely missed his chance. Groaning and leaning on the wall, he knew this was going to take another pep talk for tomorrow. There was no way he was going to be able to find her in the sea of people leaving school today. 

Saeyoung straightened back up, knowing he needed to get moving but was equally tempted to just go home and bury himself in chips and chocolate to try and be less depressed. He started walking robotically, on autopilot to his next class. He really hadn’t considered that he might literally run into someone else, but his reflexes kicked into overdrive, grabbing the other human and pulling them together so that neither of them hit the floor. 

“Oh shit, I wasn’t-”

His voice died halfway out of his throat as he caught sight of deep indigo. Oh no. Oh _ no _ . _ Oh no _.

“Sorry, I forgot something in here and I needed to grab it before my next class. Didn’t mean to run into you, haha.”

She was inches from his face, so close he could see every single faint freckle across the bridge of her nose. He hadn’t even known those were there and they would have been his new favorite thing had he not also discovered that each of her eyes contained a tiny galaxy. He just sat there like an idiot, holding her to him, completely engrossed in the sight he’d like to see for the rest of his life.

A confused smile spread across her face. “Uuuh, Saeyoung? You wanna let go so I can get my notebook and not be late?”

** _Wait_ ** _ , did she just-? _ “Y-you know my name?”

Pushing against his chest to take a step back, Zifeara laughed. “I mean yeah? Not only is it impossible to go here without hearing the exploits of the infamous Choi twins, but we’ve had a lot of classes together. You’re kinda hard to miss, you know?”

He could feel his heart pounding in his throat. Not only did she know his name, but she’d heard about things he’d done. That meant she knew about the time freshman year when he’d gotten detention for learning to throw his voice and using it against his homeroom teacher for two weeks. She knew about the time last year when he ended up in the principal’s office for hacking into the school records and altering the names of people giving Saeran a hard time and then locking the files down to prevent them from being changed back. She knew that at some point, he’d spent most of a day trapped in a storage closet because some of the jocks had thrown him in there and Saeran was home sick and he had no other friends to let him out. She knew every embarrassing thing he’d ever done and he was _ so screwed _. 

While he stood there, stammering like he didn’t speak the same language, she moved around him and retrieved her notebook. Pushing past him once more, she sounded a little weirded out. “Well uh, bye, I guess? I have to go-”

“W-_ wait _!” His voice cracked and he could feel the shame flooding across his cheeks. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Sorry, uhm, I meant to stop you anyway.”

As she raised an eyebrow at him, he realized that sounded far creepier than he ever wanted it to be. “I, no, that wasn’t what-” He very nearly slapped himself right in front of her, but instead took a deep breath. “I’m a nervous dumbass and can’t keep myself together because you’re way cooler than I could ever hope to be. Is there even a snowball’s chance in Hell that you’d consider letting me get to know you after what an embarrassing spaz I’ve been? Because I _ really _ wanted to ask if you’d go to the Fall Formal with me.”

Saeyoung’s words may have fallen out in a rush, but she seemed to understand well enough. Cracking an almost sympathetic smile, Zifeara tilted her head. “You know, I definitely wasn’t going to that.”

Of… of course he’d blown it. Not only had he made an absolute fool of himself the very first time he’d ever talked to her, but he’d dared think she would want to have anything to do with him to begin with. Saeyoung should have known his place; he should have been content with the nobody he was and watched from afar, satisfied with the brief glimpses of her he was afforded and the inappropriate dreams he most certainly had. 

His shoulders slumped and he just about excused himself to go home and have a breakdown before she continued. “But you’re the only guy to ask me in an honest way. Everyone else absolutely asked only to sleep with me afterwards and I don’t have to go to a whole dance for that.”

She grabbed his left hand and a pen from her bag, scrawling her phone number across the center of his palm. “Text me after school and we can figure out details. You aren’t picking me up because I’m driving my own car, you aren’t getting me a corsage, and you aren’t getting a date. I’m only going because the way you asked was really funny and you’re kinda cute. Capisce?”

Slowly nodding, Saeyoung’s whole body felt numb. There were so many things to process in this one moment that exactly none of his brain cells were firing. As Zifeara walked away and her footsteps faded into the surrounding noise, the corner of his mouth twitched. He… he did it. He was going to the dance with his dream girl. She made it very clear it wasn’t a date, but he was _ in _ and she even called him _ cute _. The confused squiggle of a smile overtook his features as his feet started moving one more time to get him through the rest of the day. The purple ink on his skin almost tingled, as though it exuded electricity. He had a lot to do before this weekend. 

***

“Will you fucking stop? You’re gonna give me an aneurysm just from watching you.”

Saeyoung darted back and forth, restraightening his vest and pulling at the sleeves of his undershirt for the millionth time. He was pacing, endlessly crossing from one side of the room to the other in an attempt to resist touching his hair. It took him twenty minutes to smooth it out after moving the part to one side and he couldn’t risk altering it before the hairspray dried. 

“Saeran, are you sure I look okay? You mean it?”

He rubbed his damp palms on his black slacks, careful not to stain the white vest he sported. He fiddled with his tie, ensuring it was properly tucked in and that the ornament on it was straight and secure. These clothes didn’t quite fit him, but he hoped to grow into them. 

Saeran slapped his hands and pulled his collar down. “For the last time, _ yes _ . Damn Saeyoung, she’s a _ girl _ not a cobra, fucking chill. Are you sure you want to wear those?”

He knew what Saeran was referring to since they had this discussion earlier too; the contacts itched a little, but it was easy enough to ignore so long as Saeyoung didn’t think about it. “Yes, I have to! What’s the point of having contacts if I never wear them? Besides, I look better this way, less like a loser…”

His twin met his golden eyes with his own, the note of sincerity in his tone making Saeyoung relax a tiny bit. “But you prefer your glasses. You’re more comfortable that way. Besides, you’re a loser at heart, that has nothing to do with your impared vision.”

Before he could protest, the deep voice from the doorway interjected. “Leave him alone, Saeran. Let him make a big deal out of his first dance.”

Vanderwood leaned on the doorframe, soft smile on his face. Swallowing and approaching the older man, Saeyoung held his arms out. “Ross! You’ll be honest, do I look okay?”

The brunet looked him over, nodding thoughtfully. “Yeah, you do. So, this girl you asked out, she’s the one I’ve been hearing about literally the entire time you’ve been in school, isn’t she? The one that’s an awful lot of trouble?”

Vanderwood had always been looking out for them, ever since this family had taken all three of them in. They may not have been related by blood, but he was as much Saeyoung’s brother as Saeran was. He was four years older and as such, was currently in college. Vanderwood still made time to help with their homework if they asked him to. 

“Uuuh, yeah, she is.” He looked away, not wanting to dwell on the subject of his escort’s escapades.

Vanderwood hummed before clapping him on the arm. “Be careful, kiddo. Have fun, but don’t get stupid just because you’re with a girl.”

“Thanks, I-”

The ring of the doorbell reverberated through the house and Saeyoung bolted from the room. “Bye guys, see you later!”

Saeran sat back down on the bed, returning to his book while Vanderwood sighed heavily, shaking his head. “Don’t look at me, I’m too gay for this shit,” the younger twin deadpanned.

Saeyoung slowed right before he got to the door, trying to achieve some level of chill. The instant he opened the door, any coherent thought poured right out his ear. Everything Zifeara wore was black as was her usual style, but her dress was shaped like a giant cat; its head covered her chest, pointed ears peaking just at her collarbone, neck forming the bodice, and fluffy skirt cutting off at her knee. The leggings underneath bore a spider web pattern and her sturdy combat boots held feline faces complete with whiskers. Forget pining, he was straight _ in love _. 

“Heya, ready to go?”

“Uh… uhuh. You… you look stunning.” God, he just could not tear his eyes from her. He was so entirely smitten and it was becoming a problem. He needed to close the door so they could leave, but he was frozen in place.

She giggled, reaching out and taking his hand, pulling him along. “Thanks. You actually clean up pretty nicely yourself.” He hadn’t let go of the door, meaning she somewhat used him to close it. “Lock up and we’ll get going.”

“Y-yeah, right.” His hands only shook a little getting the key into the lock, but he was slowly coming to his senses again. “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why didn’t you want me to pick you up?” He had glimpsed the black and red supercar she drove before so he wasn’t surprised to see it, but he was abundantly curious about her small list of demands. 

Shrugging, she waited until they settled in to respond. “I assume people are garbage until they prove otherwise. By taking my own car to things, if the guy I’m with turns out to be a scumbag, I’m not at anyone’s mercy to get out of there.” She darted a quick glance at him. “Not that I think you are! It’s just habit. I don’t trust anyone I haven’t spent a lot of time with.”

“No, that’s really smart, actually. No offence taken.” He’d had his fair share of trust issues, so he understood where she was coming from. 

The drive to school wasn’t long from his house, but he spent most of it fidgeting and twisting his fingers to burn off some of his nervous energy. Talking about mundane things like their favorite colors or books they liked or odd things Saeran did helped ease Saeyoung into getting to talk to Zifeara. It made it all seem real. He’d gotten himself this far, now he just had to stop being so weird and… relax. She was a person like everyone else and she had said yes to going out with him tonight.

As soon as they arrived, the steady thrum of music coming from their gymnasium was unmistakable. There was a full on party in there and for once, he was going. Stepping out and following the trail of balloons to the double doors, Saeyoung made sure to hold them open for Zifeara. She would be watching his every move tonight and he had to make the most of it. He had one shot at this, one chance to prove himself worthy of her time. 

They grabbed something to drink from the snack table and hunkered down in a corner for a while, talking while Zifeara, as she put it, ‘got into the music’. Saeyoung was finding that the more he let his guard down and hung out, the easier it was to talk to her. She was just as witty as everyone said she was and had a dark sense of humor to boot, meaning a lot of his jokes meshed well with her. It felt good to have her laugh at things he said. He felt like she genuinely listened when he talked, like she wasn’t just humoring him, and the more they conversed, the more he fell flat on his face for her. The magnetic pull he felt wasn’t only because she was beautiful and brilliant in theory, but because he truly _ liked _ her. 

Right before he asked her to dance, Zifeara brought a hand to his face, making him blush. “Where are your glasses? You didn’t have to give up seeing to try and look more presentable, haha.”

“Oh, uh, I got contacts. I’ve never worn them before, but I thought… tonight might be a good time to try?” She peered at him curiously, prompting his general panicked reaction. “Why, do they look bad?”

“Of course not, it’s just…” The hand on his cheek pushed, making him look the other way so she could study his face. “I’ve never seen you without them and it’s different. Definitely not bad, just not how I’m used to seeing you.”

He blinked rapidly, evaluating her assessment. _ Used to seeing him. _ If she was accustomed to him looking a certain way, that means she’d been paying a lot more attention than he’d ever imagined. Maybe… he wasn’t as hopeless as he thought. 

He moved without thinking about it, placing his hand over hers. “Then maybe I’ll stick to my glasses after all. Do you want to dance? I can’t say I know how, but that won’t stop me.”

Grinning, Zifeara took his other hand and began walking backwards towards the mass of their peers. “I like your determination. It isn’t hard to pick up and you seem like a quick learner. Just remember, the most important part is having fun.”

The DJ played a lot of current hits that were easy to dance to mixed with straight EDM, the ‘formal’ part of the Formal was always saved for the last hour when everyone was winding down. Zifeara was right; it didn’t take him long at all to pick up on how he was supposed to be moving to be considered dancing, but he found the best method was to rock with the beat of whatever song was playing. Time was passing at a rate he couldn’t comprehend, melting away as he flowed around this breathtaking girl, entwined in the rhythm bringing them closer and closer together with every song until he could watch the flashing lights play over her eyes. The all-consuming indigo of her irises bewitched him, making him numb to any other human in this room, focused only on her, the blood pumping through his veins to the very beat in the air, and the euphoric high this whole thing was giving him. 

The only thing that snapped him out of this stupor was when she leaned in close enough so that he could hear her over the steady pound of the bass. “Do you like Daft Punk?”

While tilting his head in confusion, he couldn’t say the question didn’t excite him. “Hell yeah, I love them! Why?”

Zifeara made a motion for him to wait and pushed through the sea of people. She stopped at a computer set up on the side of the DJ table and quickly typed something in, waving to the boy mixing music. He came over to her and they seemed to have a short conversation before high-fiving. When she made it back over to Saeyoung he asked her what gives.

“Got a surprise for you. Much like everyone else in this school, the DJ owes me a favor or two. Night’s about to get a lot slower and he only has time for another good song or two- I wanted to make sure it was excellent.”

As the current song faded out, he recognized [the robotic voice starting to sing](https://youtu.be/gvS-lBQIioE). “Wait, what _ is _this? It sounds awesome!”

“Just one of my favorite Daft Punk remixes! Last call is too good to waste!”

Saeyoung was so into this. He was so into _ her _ . He didn’t want to think about the magical spell cast over this night breaking as soon as they left. He didn’t want to think about how much more he wanted tonight to be. About how much she seemed to _ like him too _. So he left himself get lost once more in one of his favorite bands and in the way Zifeara pressed up against him as they both rocked to the techno beat. He knew this was probably it, so he allowed himself to be bold, resting his hands on her hips and throwing caution to the wind. He was sure he looked a mess by now, but he cared far less than he thought he would.

As their last hard song came to an end, the DJ announced that the last hour of the dance would be softer and a lot more laid back. A decent amount of the party goers dispersed to check out for the night, leaving only half the attendees to do what they would. Grabbing a drink from the refreshment table, Saeyoung had finally to come to terms with his perfect, wonderful night being over. It was midnight and his dress was turning to rags. He was once again the hopeless nerd in the background. Unless...

Zifeara downed the rest of her drink before throwing the cup in the trash, ready to go, but he extended his hand. “Would you dance with me? Just one more, that’s all I ask.”

He knew very well that she hadn’t wanted to stay for what she called the ‘gag-worthy’ part of the evening, but he was hoping against all hope that she had changed her mind. She scanned his face even as her nose wrinkled, determining if she really wanted to put herself through this. After a brief pause, she placed her hand in his and allowed herself to be pulled into his chest. He had to do this right; this might be the pivotal point in the whole night. 

[As the DJ put a new song on](https://youtu.be/mcXv4w-cm3U), Saeyoung entwined his fingers with hers, resting his other hand just so on her waist. This he at least knew how to do and he’d have to thank Vanderwood when he got home. Zifeara relaxed into it after a few seconds, giving in to his silly whim. Heat radiated from every inch of him as he once more got lost in her presence, not even hearing the music this time. She was so beautiful, so perfect, he just couldn’t imagine returning to his life after tonight. He knew he’d gotten lucky that she pitied him, but he had tried so hard to offer up the best of himself tonight. 

His heart practically stopped as she rested her head on his shoulder, mouth close to his ear. “Do you have to be home by a certain time?”

_ Yes. _ “No.” _ Not for you, I don’t. _ “W-why?”

“Because I have somewhere better we could be right now.”

Oh no, oh god, oh shit, he hadn’t thought he’d done _ that _ well. Fuck, if he was going to have to do this to keep her… then he would. He’d… he’d figure it out. With a harsh exhale, he stopped moving. “Okay…”

Zifeara kept hold of his hand, leading him back to the car. Surely she could feel how much he was starting to sweat. He never imagined in his wildest dreams that he would lose his virginity so young. He’d skipped a few grades in school which was the only reason they were in the same class; she was nearly _ two years _ older than him and she was starting early. He was only fifteen, he didn’t even watch porn yet… Maybe he was the slow one. This was about to be his life now and he didn’t think he’d be capable of saying no. 

He twitched and tried to slow his breathing the entire time she drove them out to a desolate cliff. The place overlooked the whole city, but it was hard to take in the majesty of everything when he was trying not to cry. He didn’t want this yet, but he wanted _ her _. The slam of the car door made him jump so harshly that he nearly hit the roof. She was looking in at him from outside, motioning that he join her. Oh this was so much worse- how were they going to do this out there?

But he did as she bid him, stepping up next to her as she leaned against the hood of her car. He would do anything she wanted him to at this point and the thought terrified him. They stood in silence, Saeyoung still nervously digging at the skin around his nails and Zifeara serenely observing the sky above them. 

It felt like forever before she spoke, but he flinched hard when she did. “Told you this would be nicer than the-” She trailed off as she noticed his tense demeanor, fully turning to face him. “Saeyoung, are you okay?”

Risking a glance, he found Zifeara’s expression to be one of genuine concern. She seemed nice enough so far that he felt he could be truthful, to a degree. “I- I… If I’m completely honest… I’m a little scared. I didn’t think- I mean, I never hoped…” He couldn’t get the words out past the lump in his throat. His mouth was too dry while his eyes were too moist. 

She put her hands out to touch him, but stopped before she actually made contact. “Hey, what’s wrong? I thought you were having a good time, what happened? I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about staying at the dance longer, I really didn’t; I just don’t like that sort of thing. If it’d make you feel better, we could still dance here?”

He blinked dumbly at her, trying to process what was going on. “You… you mean we didn’t come out here to…?”

Scanning his features, Zifeara blushed as she realized what he was getting at. “To…? _ Oh _ , oh jeez, no!” She took a step back, frantically waving her arms. “Gods, no wonder you’re freaking out! I know I have quite the reputation already, but you’re _ way _ too young for me! Hell, half the reason I said I’d go with you is because I thought for sure you wouldn’t go there!”

Saeyoung could feel the relief threaten to topple him. His knees were shaking, so he lay a hand on the hood of the car to steady himself. The uneven laugh working its way out of him was unbecoming, but he couldn’t stop himself. “Hahahaha, oh. Man, I’m… I’m sorry, I just couldn’t think of any other reason why you’d suggest we go somewhere like this, haha.”

Raising an eyebrow, she gestured to their surroundings. “Maybe because I liked spending time with you but I didn’t want to sit in a stuffy gym to do it? Plus I thought you would love this spot since you’re in the astronomy club.”

He couldn’t believe what he was hearing; both things she’d just said seemed impossible. On one hand, she’d enjoyed herself enough to take him somewhere else. She hadn’t been required to, she just wanted to, meaning his feeling that she might have liked him even a fraction of the amount he liked her was probably accurate. Somehow. The other thing was even more perplexing; _ she knew he was in the astronomy club _ . Zifeara just kept… _ knowing _ things about him that he was certain she had no business paying attention to. They lived completely different lives, she didn’t have the time to waste this much attention on him. How could she ever remember all of this? The realization that she couldn’t have and what this really was hit him like a ton of bricks. This _ was _ impossible.

He was blowing this out of proportion; engaging in wishful thinking was only going to get him hurt and he couldn’t handle any more strain on his heart tonight. She had to have seen him in his club as she was leaving her own at some point or even just owned a yearbook. Chuckling, he slipped his hands into his pockets and stepped in front of her. He kept his eyes fixed on his shoes. “I appreciate what you’re doing, even if I did take it the wrong way at first, but you don’t have to anymore. I know you didn’t really want to be out here with me tonight, it’s okay.”

“Oh, don’t think that-”

“I get it, I do. You’re exactly as nice as I thought you were- nice enough to give a loser like me one good night to think back on, maybe boost my confidence a little. You don’t have to keep this up. I’ve taken enough of your time and I don’t need you to keep pitying me like this.”

“Saeyoung, I don’t-”

“Yeah you do. I don’t have friends past my own brother because everybody does, it’s fine. They all say college is socially easier anyway and I can wait for that. You’re way out of my league and I’m just thankful you even humored me tonight. You’re really patient, you know?”

Huffing, Zifeara’s voice became strained. “_ Saeyoung _, would you-”

“You’re right, let’s go so that you can get back to whatever you’re doing with the rest of your weekend. Thanks for doing this for me, it had to be annoying for you to put up with-”

Leaning forward, she grabbed his face with both hands, pulling him towards her until their lips met firmly. Saeyoung couldn’t breathe; his lungs spasmed as they tried, producing a muted whimper in his throat as his eyes widened to comical proportions. He could feel a searing heat flow through him from the pit of his stomach, and overwhelming dizziness following. The sense that time came to a screeching halt washed over him again, as well as an uncertainty if he was just having a stress induced hallucination. He was excessively young to be having a stroke, though with his luck, it seemed possible.

His mouth didn’t close all the way when Zifeara pulled back, grip on his face still firm, forcing him to meet her eyes. The sincerity shimmering over them kept him quiet. “Would you stop fucking interrupting me? I’m trying to tell you that I didn’t do this out of pity or for kicks. I said yes because you seemed alright and like you really _ tried _ when you asked me.”

She laughed quietly, shaking her head at him. “Saeyoung, the most I get out of a lot of guys anymore is a half-baked come on and a location. The fact that you were so nervous you could barely talk to me was endearing and it was really cute.”

For the second time in only a few days, she’d said something about him being cute and brought even more color to his face, if that was possible at this point. They were still so close since she wouldn’t let go of him and it was making his brain overheat. “I had a lot of fun tonight, you know. I’m glad I said yes. I knew you were a joker because of all the ridiculous stories, but you’re hilarious and genuinely sweet and I had a really nice evening with you. I hate dances, but you made it more than bearable.”

When he finally found his voice, it wasn’t anywhere near what he wanted to say and came out in a whisper. “Why… why haven’t we talked before?”

Dropping her hands to take his, Zifeara allowed him to take a much needed step back to regain his good senses. “Hahaha, I don’t know. We’ve never been paired up for a project, I don’t go out of my way to make friends at school since I have plenty outside it, and for as often as I see you, we’ve never been doing the same things. I can’t say I remember you approaching me before now, though.”

_ She was holding his hands. _ “I… Yeah, I was never brave enough to do it- talk to you, I mean. I wanted to, god did I, I just… didn’t know how? You seem to know a lot of things about me I didn’t think you would. Why?”

Giggling, she rubbed her thumbs over his knuckles. “You aren’t as invisible as you think, Saeyoung. If anything, you physically stand out; you were the first one I noticed in homeroom on our first day of school. The bright red hair stands out and I bet once you grow out of your baby face, you’re gonna be hot. Even your glasses look good on you.”

_ She was holding his hands and said he was hot. _ “You get into all this trouble so it’s hard not to hear about you, but past that, how could I not notice you? You get the best grades out of everyone I know, you’ve been on the honor roll with me from day one, and that star projector you made for the science fair last year was just about the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. You _ built that _. You’re brilliant- it’s hard to miss that.”

_ She was holding his hands and said he was hot and thought he was smart. _ “You didn’t say anything nice about yourself, but I can’t find anything wrong with you. I was going to make you get rid of my number when this was all said and done, but now I’m thinking you should call me tomorrow so we can set something up for next weekend.”

Okay, he was absolutely hearing things now. “_ What _?” he squeaked.

God he loved her laugh, even if it was at him. “I told you tonight wasn’t a date, but I changed my mind. I like you and since you had such a hard time the _ first _ time, I’ll ask now; will you go on another date with me?”

_ She wanted to _ ** _date_ ** _ him??? _ He could only stare, unable to comprehend the situation he was in. It started as a heavy sigh, but rolled into a hesitant chuckle, and soon spiraled into delirious giggling. She’d broken him- there was no other way to put it. “God, I- yeah, of course. That’s all I’ve wanted for the last two and a half years, hahaha!”

A warm smile spread across her face as her eyes became lidded. “I’d also like to kiss you again if you think you can handle it. Once to get you to stop talking didn’t feel like enough.”

Saeyoung felt… almost shy now. He had been losing his mind a little too much to appreciate his first kiss, but now he was fully aware and still reeling from everything that had just transpired between them. He nodded and Zifeara pulled him back into her space. 

“I promise I’ll keep my hands above the belt; you’ve had enough of a heart attack tonight.” She was clearly teasing him by her tone, but he actually appreciated the assurance. 

His clear uncertainty of how she wanted him to stand or how close he was expected to be resulted in her moving his hands to rest just above her hips and running her own up his chest, softly taking hold of his shirt collar to pull him in. He tensed again on initial contact, but slowly eased into it. Her lips were warm and softer than he had imagined, a detail he missed in his panic. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do once they were connected, but she answered that question for him with gentle motions. The heat that had plagued him earlier returned, but instead of settling in his face, it rolled through his chest, warming his very soul and offering a sense of what he could only describe as ‘fulfilled destiny’. He felt like this was where he was always meant to be- like everything he had been through led to this one moment. 

It didn’t take long for Saeyoung to attempt to do as she was, wanting nothing more than to be an active participant. She hummed against him and he could feel the sound in his bones. Sighing through his nose, he leaned further forward, already addicted to the press of her lips on his. _ This _ was what he had wanted, though not what he dared dream he could achieve. He was so entirely blissed out, he didn’t even open his eyes when she broke their connection. Nose to nose and with their foreheads together, he could feel her quiet chuckle ghost across his mouth and he shuddered.

“Gods I wish you weren’t so young. I have to keep stopping myself from going another step and freaking you out.” Her voice was soft, but the longing in it stirred something inside him.

“What’s the step after this? You said it yourself; I’m a quick learner and now that I’ve calmed down, I’m pretty into this.”

Despite the fact that it seemed he caught her off guard with such a bold statement, Zifeara visibly suppressed a laugh. She scoot back, now on the hood of her car, gently tugging at him to do the same. It wasn’t hard enough to remain where he was if he didn’t want to go, but the redhead moved to lay next to her, curious as to where this was going if not somewhere inappropriate. She maneuvered him over a bit, just so that he was more hovering over her torso and he knew he had to be blushing again. 

“Don’t worry. You can back out if you don’t like this as much, I won’t hold it against you.”

While her reassurance that he wasn’t forced to do anything he wasn’t comfortable with was nice, Saeyoung wanted to at least see what she was doing with him before he backed out. Zifeara ran one of the hands at his front around behind him, brushing through the hair at the nape of his neck pulling him back down. 

“This time when I kiss you, it’ll be a little different, okay? Stop me if you want to.”

Making some small noise of affirmation, he closed his eyes just in time. It was so easy to get lost in this, to forget anything else was real and that this wasn’t forever. The feather light swipe of something across his lower lip had him confused for maybe half a second before he understood. _ Oh. That was what she meant. _ He wasn’t a complete moron; he was well aware of how he should react to that and this wasn’t making him nervous. He hadn’t thought he could be in love with the _ taste _ of a person and he was wrong. He was certain no mere mortal should be flavored like stardust and honey, nor should he be this hot and out of breath. She stole the very air from his lungs and he didn’t want it back. 

When his phone started ringing in his pocket, he was fairly sure he mirrored a cartoon cat, jumping three feet straight up. Zifeara startled, immediately removing her hands like she was the problem. 

Saeyoung groaned and muttered under his breath, “C’mon Vanderwood…” He froze once he realized that one of his brothers calling him could only mean one thing. He was late. “Oh shit, _ Vanderwood _!”

He slid off the car, scrambling to answer his phone and sound far less disheveled than he was. “H-hey, what’s up!?”

The older man’s irritation was palpable. “Saeyoung, what are you doing? You were supposed to be home half an hour ago, where are you? Mom is pacing the floor and Saeran can’t pretend to be you when she knows you wore Dad’s old prom clothes! I thought I told you not to be stupid because of a girl!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just…” He stole another glance at Zifeara, who at this point, had gotten down and straightened her skirt, making for the driver’s seat to get him home. He lowered his voice anyway. “Things went really well, okay? Like, well enough that it’s worth getting an earful from Mom for?”

Ross was unnaturally quiet for a moment before sighing. “Please tell me you at least didn’t go too far?”

Saeyoung knew what he was getting at because of what Vanderwood had heard of his date and snickered. “No, I’m fine. Just far enough to lose track of time, that’s all. Tell Mom I’m okay and on my way home right now.”

A bit more grumbling and he hung up, shaking his head. Well, he had to go home eventually. Zifeara cleared her throat behind him and he turned to face her.

“I didn’t get you in too much trouble, did I? I thought you said you didn’t have a curfew, so…”

Scratching the back of his head, Saeyoung shrugged. “Hahaha, I… lied? I didn’t think I’d get to do this with you more than once, so…”

Grinning and producing her own phone from a pocket he didn’t know she had, she came back around to him. “Speaking of-” she put an arm around his neck and squished them together, “we have sweet moonlight out here.”

She snapped a picture before winking. “Since I vetoed the official ones at the dance~”

“Send me that?” He needed proof that this had happened to him, if for nothing else other than he was supposed to call her tomorrow and would need convincing that he didn’t imagine the whole thing.

“Of course! Most people have pictures of their girlfriend on their phone, especially of their first date!”

“G… _ girlfriend _?” Saeyoung was fairly certain that his heart stopped, but Zifeara just smiled.

“Well yeah, dummy. I said I wanted to date you, what else would that make me, a hippo?” The good nature dropped from her expression quickly as she reconsidered her words. “Unless you changed your mind and you don’t-”

He rushed forward a little too quickly, making her jump when he took her face in his hands. “No! God no, I-” taking a deep, shuddering breath, he tried to be coherent, “I just didn’t expect you to ever talk to me again, much less… any of this. Please, I want to be your boyfriend more than anything. I’ll be good to you, I swear- I’ll figure out how to be the best boyfriend ever and-”

Laying a hand over his mouth, she was on the edge of laughing at him again, the tell-tale crinkle at the corners of her eyes prominent. “You can start by settling down. It isn’t a job and you don’t have to be perfect. Just be you; that’s what worked for you in the first place. Also, I never want to hear any variation of ‘I’ll be good to you’ come out of your mouth ever again. You sound like you’re about to kidnap me.”

Grinning and pressing a soft kiss to the palm resting over his mouth, he stole a line from one of his favorite movies. “As you wish.”

Much like that film, things didn’t go as expected, but that fairy-tale ending was on the horizon. He had found his happiness, everything afterwards would fall into place.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, if you'd like to come say hi or see what I've been up to, find me at @ZifearasHoard on Twitter!


End file.
